Last week I finished the extremely messy first draft of The Falls, my 2015 rural romance release. Much slurping of pink champagne followed, but so did that horrible, hollow feeling that comes with leaving characters behind; what I’ve come to think of as my book hangover.

It doesn’t seem to matter that I’ll be playing with them again in a week, when I knuckle down to the second draft. Writing The End still brings on a sense of loss and yearning. It happens with every book and I can’t help finding it odd. I mean, by the time the book is through its final edit I’ll be well and truly sick of it. Yet at this point, without fail, all I ever want to do is dive back into my characters’ lives and fall in love with them all over again.

I miss them. Badly. Like this…

I think that’s why we adore serial fiction so much. It keeps us connected with people we’ve been through a great deal with and fallen in love with; that have become part of our world. Which is why I’ve planned three, maybe four loosely linked books to follow on from my upcoming May release, Rocking Horse Hill.

Emily Wallace-Jones, the heroine of Rocking Horse Hill, has two best friends, Jasmine and Teagan. The Falls is Teagan’s story, Admella Beach will be Jasmine’s and there’s a possibility of a fourth with another character. Plus a novella I’ve already half completed called Summer and the Groomsman.

I have to say it was hugely satisfying being able to include Emily and Josh in The Falls, even if only in a minor way. I look forward to doing the same for Teagan and Lucas in the other books I have planned.

Are you old enough to remember chain letters? They were all the rage when I was a kid. Someone would come up with a daft pretence about creating good fortune or happiness or some other such thing, and write a (usually) naff letter to ten friends advising them they’re a recipient of all this good fortune and joy, but only if they send this letter on to ten of their acquaintances. How, in those pre-internet days, Australia Post must have loved these! Think of all those stamps that were needed, with demand growing exponentially as long as everyone kept the chain going.

I was never much of a participant. Probably sheer laziness on my part but I also thought they were pretty ridiculous.

NOT something that can be said about today’s post, which is why I’m taking part!

This is a writing process chain letter – or the modern, internet based equivalent – where writers reveal all.

Okay, so not all. But you get the picture.

My participation in this is all thanks to good buddy Rachael Johns who tagged me in her post to play along. Rachael is an English teacher by trade, a mum 24/7, a supermarket owner by day, a chronic arachnophobic, and a superstar of the rural romance genre. Her best-selling novels include Jilted, Man Drought, Outback Dreams and her Christmas novella, The Kissing Season. Keep an eye out for the second release in her Bunyip Bay series, Outback Blaze, coming May 2014!

And now onto my answers to the chain questions…

1) What am I working on?

My next rural romance The Falls. This one is set in a lush New South Wales valley whose idyllic facade hides a community simmering with tension. Some of it rather naughty! Lots of fun animals in this tale, including an evil cat, a couple of guinea pigs named Betty and Wilma, a dog named Goldi and an oversexed ram called Merlin. Oh, and we mustn’t forget the sexy farrier hero who bares more than a passing resemblance to a certain hunky Australian actor (makes for excellent research fun) and an emotionally battered heroine trying to find her heart again.

2) How does my work differ from others of its genre?

I’m a sucker for an emotionally charged romance and try to bring that to all my books. I also can’t help including animals that are characters in their own right. I know I shouldn’t anthropomorphise, but I can’t help it. It’s such a blast to have the animals getting up to all sorts of mischief and I think they also act as a great foil to the romance story.

3) Why do I write what I do?

The answer to that is pretty simple: Because I love these stories and want to read them myself.

4) How does my writing process work?

Messily.

Actually, that’s not quite true. It’s messy at the moment because I’m allowing it to be. My goal is to get basic story of The Falls written as fast as possible and then go back and fix it up. That’s not how I’ve operated for the last few books, though. When I first started out I was a complete fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants author, aka “a pantser”. But as I developed I learned to plot a lot more and concentrate very hard on the quality of writing. Unfortunately, as time went on, this search for perfection left me with an awful lot of hang-ups and my output became slower and slower. I went from taking 3 months to write a 100,000 word novel to 7 months. Finally, at the end of last year, I decided I’d had enough.

In December, while I was waiting for Rocking Horse Hill’s line and copy edits, I thought I’d try a new, just-get-the-words-down process. Thirteen days later I had a 40,000 plus word novella. I’ve NEVER had that level of output before. To be fair, I’d been brewing that story – April’s Rainbow – for a long time. Years, in fact. But the exercise proved I could write fast when I wanted. Most of all it gave me back my passion.

The experiment worked. Since January 6th I’ve polished April’s Rainbow and sent it to my agent, and written nearly 65,000 words on The Falls. Most of them pretty ugly but they’re there and editable, and that’s what matters. Because as (I believe) Nora Roberts once said, you can’t edit a blank page.

So at present, I’d call my process that of a born-again pantser. Long may it reign!

In the manner of all good chains, I’ve tagged the following excellent authors to keep the chain going. Check out their blogs on February 10th to read how they’ve answered the same questions.

Karly Lane

Karly Lane lives on the beautiful Mid North Coast of NSW in Australia. A certified small town girl, she is most happy in a little town where everyone knows who your grandparents were. She writes women’s fiction – everything from romantic suspense to family sagas and life in rural Australia. Find out more about Karly and her excellent books (I’m a massive fan), including her latest release Poppy’s Dilemma, on her website.

Victoria Purman

When Victoria Purman woke up one day and realised she’d spent most of her working life writing for other people, she decided it was finally time to tell stories of her own. Victoria is published by Harlequin Australia and is now thrilled to spend her days creating dialogue and happy-ever-afters for her imaginary characters. Her Boys of Summer series is set on the south coast of her home state of South Australia, somewhere she feels compelled to do a lot of research. Nobody But Him was released in October last year, and Someone Like You is out now. When she’s not writing, Victoria spends time with her husband, three sons, a disobedient dog, her loving, extended family and dear friends. She keeps promising to buy herself surfing lessons. Visit Victoria’s website for more.

Kris Pearson

Kris lives in Wellington, the capital of New Zealand. She’s used this lovely city as the setting for six of her novels. She writes hot, passionate, contemporary romances full of love and laughter. She has an advertising background and is the current membership secretary for Romance Writers of New Zealand. She writes and gardens, and these days is in business with her husband in the decor field. Check out Kris’s books and much, much more on her website.

Thank you all so much for your support over the last year, it’s been truly heart-warming.

Now that I’ve finished running around the house whooping stupidly for a good ten minutes, I can announce that I’ve finished Rocking Horse Hill’s line and copy edits. Which means there are only the final proofs to come. Rah!

It also means that, come Monday, I’ll be starting The Falls, my next rural-set romance. This one should be fun. The hero looks like Chris Hemsworth in Thor mode and I already have lots of photos pinned to my whiteboard for inspiration. Very decorative indeed.

If you’re wondering where Friday Feast has disappeared to, it’s on its annual summer holiday. Friday Feast will return at the end of January, suntanned and sexy, and raring for another great year of fabulous food, super-talented authors, must-read books and amazing giveaways.

In Us Heins Weren’t Meant To Play Golf news (because footy season is still a while away)… somehow, despite sending dozens of balls to a watery grave, duffing shots, swearing a lot and generally feeling cursed, I’ve managed to lose another stroke off my handicap. Apparently the Great Golfing God has taken pity on me and improved my putting game. Don’t worry, he’ll come to his senses and take it away soon. It’s not normal for Heins to post decent scores.

Right. Time for me to toddle off and enjoy a few days R&R. There be many books in my to-be-read pile to dive into, naughty holiday food to cook and some celebratory post-edit fizz to be drunk!

Wishing you all a truly wonderful 2014. May it be filled with much love and laughter.